Identifying hand-over targets in lightly coordinated networks

ABSTRACT

In general, a method performed on a portable access terminal operating in an active mode includes detecting a presence of a personal base station. An encoded identification message transmitted from the personal base station is received, and the encoded identification message includes a unique identifier associated with the personal base station. The encoded identification message is decoded to extract the unique identifier, and the unique identifier is transmitted to a source network entity.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This patent application relates generally to identifying hand-overtargets.

BACKGROUND

Cellular wireless communications systems, for example, are designed toserve multiple wireless-enabled devices distributed over a largegeographic area by dividing the area into regions called “cells” or“cell areas”. At or near the center of each cell area, a network-sideaccess device (e.g., an access point or base station) is located toserve client devices located in the cell area and commonly referred toas “access terminals” (“ATs”) or user equipment (“UEs”). Examples of ATsor UEs include wireless-enabled devices such as cellular telephones,laptops, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and/or other user equipment(e.g., mobile devices). An access terminal generally establishes a call,also referred to as a “communication session,” with an access point tocommunicate with other entities (e.g., servers) in the network.

Mobile wireless cellular networks (e.g. UMTS/WCDMA) have beenimplemented and are in operation globally. However, the coverage ofthose 2G/3G macro networks is often poor which causes call disruption tocustomers at home and inside buildings. The home base station (sometimesreferred to as Home NodeB (“HNB”) or Femtocell Access Points “FAP”) is asolution to the indoor coverage problem providing complementary indoorcoverage to 2G/3G macro networks for service continuity; moreover, italso acts as a new service platform to enable mobile wireless broadbandapplications and home entertainment.

A common problem in a lightly coordinated cellular network (e.g., amacro-Femto mixed network) is that cells do not have sufficient andaccurate knowledge about their neighbors. So, ambiguity is created in(target) cell identification for a UE in active mode which can disruptactivities such as hand-over towards FAPs. For example, suchidentification ambiguity may cause inaccuracy and excessive failures inhand-over attempts for a UE in active mode.

Various proposals have been made concerning methods for hand-overs intoFemto networks. The proposals include a method for identifying thehand-over target by using the Primary Scrambling Code (PSC), and amethod for identifying the hand-over target by identifying an umbrellamacro cell. However, many of these proposals are based on shared andambiguous target identifiers and consequently still cause excessivehand-over failure and unwanted signaling. For instance, in someconventional systems, hundreds of simultaneous hand-ins are attempted inhopes of getting correctly identifying the desired target cell. Thisapproach unnecessarily wastes network resources.

SUMMARY

In general, in some aspects, a method performed on a portable accessterminal operating in an active mode includes detecting a presence of apersonal base station. An encoded identification message transmittedfrom the personal base station is received, and the encodedidentification message includes a unique identifier associated with thepersonal base station. The encoded identification message is decoded toextract the unique identifier, and the unique identifier is transmittedto a source network entity.

Aspects can include one or more of the following features. The portableaccess terminal enters a compressed mode. Detecting includes detectingthe presence of the personal base station by detecting a scrambling codeof the personal base station. Detecting includes comparing a signalquality of the personal base station with a pre-determined threshold.The access terminal receives the encoded identification message over achannel status indicator channel (CSICH) from the personal base station.The portable access terminal transmits the unique identifier to thesource network entity in a measurement report message (MRM) or a radioresource control message (RRC). The network is a circuit-switchednetwork or a packet-switched network. Decoding includes partiallydecoding the encoded identification message and storing a partialresult. The access terminal combines one or more partial results to forma full result.

In general, in some aspects, a method includes detecting, by a portableaccess terminal, a presence of a personal base station. A portableaccess terminal receives an encoded identification message transmittedfrom the personal base station, and the encoded identification messageincludes a unique identifier associated with the personal base station.The encoded identification message is decoded on the portable accessterminal to extract the unique identifier. The unique identifier istransmitted to a source network entity, and the source network entitydetermines whether to hand-over a session to the personal base stationbased on one or more predetermined factors.

Aspects can include one or more of the following features. The sourcenetwork entity transmits a relocation message to a target networkentity, the relocation message being populated with the uniqueidentifier. The source network entity verifies a validity of the uniqueidentifier before populating the relocation message with the uniqueidentifier.

The details of one or more embodiments are set forth in the accompanyingdrawings and the description below. Other features and advantages willbe apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a radio access network (RAN).

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a femtocell deployment within a macrocell area ofthe RAN of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 illustrates an access terminal within a network including one ormore femto access points.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary definition for an HIDCH channel thatsupports target identification.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are flowcharts.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of computing devices

Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In wireless communication networks generally, geographic areas served byaccess points, also referred to as “service areas,” may vary in size,may include smaller service areas, and/or may be located within largerservice areas. Larger geographic areas that include one or more smallerservice areas are referred to as “macrocell areas,” and an access pointthat serves a macrocell area is referred to as a “macrocell” or “macrobase station.” Within a macrocell area, one or more access points may belocated to serve smaller geographic areas, referred to as “femtocellareas.” An access point that serves a femtocell area is referred to as a“femtocell access point” (FAP). A macrocell, for example, may providecoverage to an area of a few blocks, while a femtocell access point mayprovide coverage to an area covering the interior or vicinity of avehicle, or spanning a floor of a building, a house, or an office space.

Global System for Mobile communications/Wideband Code Division MultipleAccess (GSM/WCDMA) wireless communication networks (e.g., 2G/3G macronetworks) have been implemented and are in operation globally. However,one motivation for providing “femtocell access points” in such 2G/3Gmacro networks is that the coverage of those macro networks is oftenpoor which may cause, e.g., service disruption (e.g., a droppedtelephone call) to users of User Equipment (UEs) at home and insidebuildings. Femtocell access points, also known as, e.g., “home” basestations, private access points, or simply “femtocells”, providecomplementary indoor coverage to 2G/3G macro networks for servicecontinuity. Femtocell access point (FAP) implementations may also serveas a new service platform to enable mobile wireless broadbandapplications and home entertainment.

A private access point may include, for example, a femtocell accesspoint or a picocell access point. A private access point may beinstalled anywhere, for example, a vehicle, a home, an office, a publicspace, or a restaurant. For ease of description, private access pointswill be described hereinafter as femtocell access points or FAPs. Forcommunications between user equipments and access points generally, acall established between an access point and user equipment may betransferred to another access point in a process referred to as a“hand-over”. From the point of view of a particular access point, thereare two types of hand-overs: a “hand-out” moves an in-progress call outto a neighboring access point (allowing the access point to free up itsresources) and a “hand-in” occurs when a neighboring access pointtransfers an in-progress call into the access point (the access pointneeds to allocate resources to service the call).

A hand-over may be performed for a variety of different reasons.Typically, a hand-over occurs when user equipment moves into a differentcoverage area. For example, a call that has been established with amacrocell may be transferred to a neighboring macrocell when the userequipment moves outside of the service area covered by the macrocell. Ahand-over may also occur when the capacity for connecting new calls to aparticular macrocell is reached. In this scenario, the macrocell maytransfer an existing call (or a new call) to another macrocell withoverlapping coverage. Hand-overs between macrocells and femtocells mayoccur for similar/other reasons. A femtocell hand-in may occur when a UEdetermines that a neighboring femtocell can provide faster and/or morerobust communications with the user equipment than can the currentmacrocell. For example, the user equipment could be located in closergeographic proximity to the femtocell or there may be fewer obstructionsin the communication path between the femtocell and the user equipment.Femtocell hand-in may occur whenever a femtocell signal is detected bythe user equipment because it is operator policy to prefer femtocellusage over macrocell.

To facilitate a hand-over, a UE identifies nearby macrocells orfemtocells from information provided by the access point which iscurrently servicing the call. The information, collectively, is referredto as a “neighbor list” and includes scrambling codes assigned toneighboring macrocells and femtocells. The scrambling codes are used inWCDMA to separate transmissions from different access points sharing thesame channel frequencies. A neighbor list may also include channelfrequencies assigned to neighboring macrocells and femtocells.

In many hand-over processes, for example, a UE selects a scrambling codeof a nearby access point from the neighbor list received from itscurrent access point. The user equipment uses the scrambling code todecode a pilot signal that is continuously transmitted by the nearbyaccess point in order to determine the quality of the communicationchannel between itself and that access point. For example, the userequipment can determine the signal-to-noise ratio, and the bandwidth ofthe communication channel. If the user equipment determines that thecommunication channel is of sufficient quality, it establishescommunication with the nearby access point. Otherwise, the userequipment selects the scrambling code of a different access point fromthe neighbor list, tests the associated pilot signal, and repeats theprocess until a suitable access point is determined.

Referring to FIG. 1, a radio access network (RAN) 100 includes multiplemacro access points or “macrocells” 108, 110, and 112 located inmacrocell areas 102, 104, and 106, respectively. The macrocell areas102, 104, and 106 can cover one or more femtocell access points (FAPs).The macrocells 108, 110, and 112 are each configured to communicate witha UE over an airlink. For example, macrocell 108 communicates with userequipment (UE) 116 over an airlink 109. Macrocells 108, 110, and 112 areconnected over a backhaul connection (e.g., backhaul connection 118 a or118 b) to a radio network controller (RNC) which in turn communicateswith the service provider's core network 122, e.g., via RNC 120 a or 120b, which may be one or more physical devices at different locations.

The RAN 100 is configured to support various mobile wireless accesstechnologies, examples of which include Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE) and CodeDivision Multiple Access (CDMA) 2000. The 1xEV-DO protocol has beenstandardized by the Telecommunication Industry Association (TIA) asTIA/EIA/IS-856, “CDMA2000 High Rate Packet Data Air InterfaceSpecification,” 3GPP2 C.S0024-0, Version 4.0, Oct. 25, 2002, which isincorporated herein by reference. Revision A is also this specificationhas been published as TIA/EIA/IS-856A, “CDMA2000 High Rate Packet DataAir Interface Specification,” 3GPP2 C.S0024-A, Version 2.0, July 2005.Revision A is also incorporated herein by reference. Revision B to thisspecification has been published as TIA/EIA/IS-856-B, 3GPP2 C.S0024-Band is also incorporated herein by reference. Other wirelesscommunication standards may also be used. Although this description usesterminology from the 3GPP's UMTS standards, the same concepts areapplicable to other wireless communication standards, including CDMA 1xEV-DO, CDMA2000, WIMAX, WIBRO, WIFI, and the like.

The following sections of the 3GPP Standard are hereby incorporated byreference in their entirety:

3GPP Technical Specification 25.211 version 5.6.0 Release 5, 2004-09,Physical channels and mapping of transport channels onto physicalchannels (FDD)

3GPP Technical Specification 25.331 version 8.3.0 Release 8, 2008-07,Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Radio ResourceControl (RRC); Protocol specification;

3GPP Technical Specification 25.304 version 7.6.0 Release 7, 2008-07,Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); User Equipment (UE)procedures in idle mode and procedures for cell reselection in connectedmode;

3GPP Technical Specification 25.133 version 8.3.0 Release 8, 2008-06,Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Requirements forsupport of radio resource management (FDD);

3GPP Technical Specification 24.008 version 7.9.0 Release 7, 2007-10,Digital cellular telecommunications system (Phase 2+); Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS); Mobile radio interface Layer 3specification; Core network protocols; Stage 3; and

3GPP Technical Specification 23.122 version 7.9.0 Release 7, 2007-06,Digital cellular telecommunications system (Phase 2+); Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS); Non-Access-Stratus (NAS) functionsrelated to Mobile Station (MS) in idle mode.

FIG. 2, is a diagram showing a femtocell deployment in the macrocellservice area 102 of the RAN 100 of FIG. 1. The service area 102 ofmacrocell 108 includes femtocell areas 240 a, 240 b, and 240 c served byfemtocell access points (FAPs) 242 a, 242 b, and 242 c, respectively.Hereinafter, the femtocell access points 242 a, 242 b, and 242 c arereferred to as “FAPs 242 a, 242 b, and 242 c.” Although, only three FAPsare shown in FIG. 2, in practice a macrocell area can include many moreFAPs. For example, a macrocell area could include hundreds, thousands,or hundreds of thousands of FAPs.

A femtocell server 244 (or “network gateway”—see FIG. 3) is incommunication with one or more of the FAPs 242 a-c. The femtocell server244 maintains active associations between user equipments such as userequipments (UEs) 116 a, 116 b, and 116 c and the FAPs 242 a-c so that ahand-in request from the macrocell 108 (or other components of themobile core network) can be directed to the correct FAP. One or more ofthe FAPs 242 a-c and the femtocell server 244 may be combined as asingle device. In early deployment, the femtocell server 244 may presenta similar, conventional system interface as that of RNC 120 to theexisting core network infrastructure 122. References to the core network122 may, in some cases, be a shorthand for a reference to the femtocellserver 244, and in some implementations, certain functions of the corenetwork 122 may be included in the femtocell server 244 and vice versa.For example, when reference is made to an FAP accessing storedinformation from the core network 122, all or part of the informationmight be stored on the core network 122 and/or the femtocell server 244.

Each of the FAPs 242 a-c is generally configured to continuouslytransmit or broadcast a main pilot signal. The main pilot for an FAP isdecoded with a main scrambling code assigned to that particular FAP. Theterms “main scrambling code” and “main pilot” may also be referred to as“operating/primary scrambling code” and “operating/primary pilot,”respectively. The FAPs' main scrambling codes may be assigned withmaximum geographic dispersal in order to minimize radio interferenceprobability (given that they may be reused within a macrocell area in adense deployment). The main scrambling codes assigned to the FAPs 242a-c may be stored in the neighbor list of the macrocell 108.

Femtocell access point systems typically perform some type of closedaccess control. Closed access control can mean the access to eachfemtocell access point is limited in some fashion (e.g., not every userequipment may “camp” on the femtocell and/or utilize the services of thefemtocell). For example, an owner of an FAP may wish to control whichuser equipments are allowed to camp on and register with the corenetwork 122 via the FAP to use normal service (e.g., non-emergencyservice).

User equipments may be “authorized” or “not authorized” (“unauthorized”)to camp on and/or use services of an FAP. Each FAP of the FAPs 242 a-cmay include an authorization list, or “access control list,” which maybe stored in memory on the FAP (see, e.g., access control lists (ACLs)246 a, 246 b, 246 c stored on respective FAPs 242 a, 242 b, 242 c inFIG. 2). The access control list for a particular FAP includesidentities of UEs that are authorized on that FAP. Access control listsmay be updated periodically by an administrator or operator of the corenetwork (e.g., the core network 122). UEs that are not identified on theaccess control list of a particular FAP are not authorized on that FAP.A particular UE may be authorized on one FAP and unauthorized on anotherFAP. From the perspective of an FAP, a UE is either an authorized userequipment (AUE) or an unauthorized user equipment (UUE). From theperspective of a UE, an FAP is either an authorized FAP (e.g., a “home”FAP that the UE is authorized on), or an unauthorized FAP (e.g., a“foreign” FAP that the UE is not authorized on).

A home FAP may be located in a user's home, in an office building, or insome other public or private location. Likewise, a “foreign” FAP may belocated in close physical proximity to a user's home FAP but still beforeign from the perspective of the UE. Just as an FAP may identify morethan one authorized UE in its access control list, a UE may beauthorized on more than one FAP (and thus may have more than oneauthorized FAP or home FAP). For ease of description, a home FAP for aUE will be referred to as though it is the only home FAP for the userequipment.

Since an access control list of an FAP may change from time to time, aparticular UE may change from being an authorized UE (AUE) at one pointin time to being an unauthorized UE (UUE) for that FAP. Similarly, fromthe perspective of the “changing” UE, what was once an authorized FAP(e.g., a “home” FAP) when the UE was an AUE for that FAP, becomes anunauthorized FAP (e.g., a “foreign” FAP”) when the UE becomes a UUE forthat same FAP.

In portions of the following description, the UE 116 a is referred to asbeing an authorized UE on the FAP 242 a, and the FAP 242 a is referredto as being a home FAP for, or from the perspective of, the UE 116 a. Atthe same time, the UE 116 a is referred to as being an unauthorized UEwith respect to the FAP 242 b, and the FAP 242 b is referred to as beinga foreign FAP for, or from the perspective of, the UE 116 a. Inanalogous fashion, the UE 116 b is referred to as being an authorized UEon the FAP 242 b and an unauthorized UE on the FAP 242 a. References toUEs 116 a-c as authorized UEs and/or unauthorized UEs and FAPs 242 a-cas home FAPs and/or foreign FAPs are merely examples. Thus, in someexamples, the FAPs 242 a, 242 b, and 242 c may be home FAPs for one ormore UEs and may simultaneously be foreign FAPs for one or more otherUEs. The UEs 116 a-c may be authorized UEs for one or more FAPs and maysimultaneously be unauthorized UEs for one or more other FAPs.

Examples of UE identifiers that may be used in an access control list ona particular FAP may include the International Mobile SubscriberIdentity (IMSI) of the UE. While the UE may also use a temporaryidentifier such as a Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI) ininitial communications with an FAP, access control lists may generallyinclude the unique IMSI of the UE rather than the TMSI.

In a wireless network such as a UMTS network, each access point isassigned an access point identifier such as a Location Area Identifier.Location Area Identifiers are explained in more detail in 3GPP TechnicalSpecification 23.003, section 4.4.4.6. The Location Area Identifier(LAI) of the access point is broadcast to UEs. When camping on an accesspoint, the UE issues a Location Area Update Request message thatcontains the LAI assigned to that access point. That Location AreaUpdate Request message is forwarded by the access point to the corenetwork and the core network returns a message to the UE that allowsthat UE to camp on the access point to use normal service (e.g.,non-emergency service) or that rejects the UE's Location Area UpdateRequest to disable normal service (unless the UE is trying to make anemergency call from the FAP). Once camped on an access point with aparticular LAI, the UE can move into the coverage area of another accesspoint with the same LAI without issuing a new Location Area UpdateRequest. The UE issues a new Location Area Update Request message whenthe UE moves into the coverage area of an access point with a differentLAI. The UE may also issue the Location Area Update Request periodicallyto inform an access point that the UE is still in the vicinity of theaccess point.

An LAI is an example of an access point identifier. In some examples,wireless networks that use other air interface standards may use anaccess point identifier other than an LAI in access control.

When a UE moves into the coverage area of an FAP, the UE will generallyissue a Location Area Update Request message containing the LAI assignedto that FAP. Thus, even a UE that is unauthorized on a particular FAPbut that is in range of, or in the coverage area of, the FAP willgenerally attempt to camp on the FAP and do Location Area registrationwith the core network (e.g., core network 122) using the Location AreaUpdate Request message. In order to support a form of closed accesscontrol, Location Area Update Request messages from unauthorized UEsshould be rejected to prevent the unauthorized UEs from camping on theFAP to use normal service.

Considering a UMTS Macro-Femto co-network as an example, such a lack ofsufficient information and the resulting identification ambiguity couldbe due to a number of reasons. As a first example, a UE in active modeonly reports a target cell's Primary Scrambling Code (PSC) in theMeasurement Report Message (MRM), as this is reused by multiple FAPs andcannot uniquely identify a target. As a result, the PSC is mapped ortranslated into a “nominal” cell id and enclosed in relocation messagesand consequently the network cannot uniquely identify a target cell. Asa second example, a UE with WCDMA continuous Tx/Rx nature has to enterCompressed Mode (CM) to be able to do inter-frequency or inter-RATmeasurements. However, the maximum Transmission Gap (TG) in the CM isabout 9.3 ms (e.g., 14 slots), which is far less than 20 ms SystemInformation Block (e.g. SIB3) transmission block. This makes itdifficult for the UE to decode SIB3 in the CM to obtain the other targetcell identity/identifier.

Generally the Compressed Mode in UMTS/WCDMA is a special sub-mode of UEactive/connected mode, which allows a UE to have some short intervalsduring the continuous transmission/reception operation on the currentfrequency to intermittently switch to other frequencies to search andmeasure neighbor cells.

In general, the techniques described herein enable hand-overs that haveincreased accuracy and that are relatively free of identificationambiguity in a cellular network. FIG. 3 illustrates an overview of asystem 300 that facilitates hand-ins in a network using cells such asFemto cells. A system 300 provides mechanisms that can be used toidentify a target hand-in cell for a UE that is in an active mode.

An exemplary hand-in performed within system 300 will now be describedwith reference to FIG. 3. At time t₁, access terminal 302 iscommunicating through radio node (RN) 306 to another user through sourceradio network controller (RNC) 308, and optionally through MSC 310. Inthis example, the access terminal 302 moves away from RN 306 in thedirection of the FAP 304, which may be installed in a user's home,office, or other location. Certain parameters received on UE 302 causethe UE 302 to begin measuring characteristics of adjacent cells. Forexample, UE 302 performs measurements such as cell search, signalstrength measurement, and evaluation/ranking. The measurements can beperiodic, or can be based on other factors, such as whether the macrocell is experiencing interference. As part of the measurements, UE 302attempts to detect the presence of other cells. Due to WCDMA'scontinuous Tx/Rx nature, the UE 302 must enter compressed mode tomeasure inter-frequency or inter-RAT cells (in CMDA and 3GPP systems).UE 302 intermittently stops transmitting for a pre-defined period (e.g.,approximately 9.3 ms) so that it can measure cells on differentfrequencies. UE 302 may still measure cells on the same frequencies, butthe UE 302 would not need to enter compressed mode in that case. UE 302may perform these measurements while it is supporting an active session.

While UE 302 is making measurements, it might detect the primaryscrambling code of FAP 304 within its range (e.g., at time t₂), or maydetect the presence of FAP 304 in some other manner. If a number ofpre-determined factors are satisfied, the UE 302 begins to decode achannel containing unique identifying information for the FAP 304 (thehome node B identification channel (“HIDCH”), described in greaterdetail below). For instance, whenever the UE 302 detects the presence ofan FAP 304, it begins to measure and compare the FAP's signal qualitywith a pre-defined threshold. If the detected FAP's quality is betterthan the threshold (or, optionally, if it remains better for a period ofa pre-defined hysteresis), the UE 302 will begin to decode the HIDCHchannel of the FAP 304. If no FAP is detected, or if an FAP's signal isworse than a pre-defined threshold, the UE 302 does not need to decodethe HIDCH. In one embodiment, the purpose of the quality threshold is toensure that the UE decodes the HIDCH only when the FAP quality isacceptable. In this way, UE 302 can avoid unwanted decoding and preservethe UE's battery life.

Once the pre-defined factors are met, UE 302 decodes the FAP 304identity. The UE 302 reports measurements back to the network controller(e.g., source RNC 308) as part of normal operation. For example, UE 302transmits measurement report messages (MRM) and/or radio resourcecontrol messages (RRC). In some examples, the UE 302 uses MRM, which canbe encoded to report many different things; however, in conventionalsystems, MRM message do not report an identity of the target cell itself(other than the scrambling code). The MRM may be modified to include theidentity of the FAP 304, so that the source RNC 308 can identity of theFAP to the target entity (e.g. Femto gateway).

Source RNC 308 may contain software that decides whether the macro cellsignal strength has gotten so weak that the session should be handedover to a new cell, and also determines whether the detected FAP 304 hasa signal quality that is high enough to be a target for the hand-overattempt. This decision can be based on a macro hand-over process, whichis based on, for example, the ratio of the chip energy to the noiseenergy. If this ratio drops below a certain threshold, the source RNC308 may decide to hand-in the session—in this case to the FAP 304.

Source RNC 308 transmits a message containing the information thatuniquely identifies the target FAP 304 to either MSC 310 (which forwardsthe message to the target RNC 312 or generates and sends a new messagecontaining the same target identification information to the target RNC312), or directly to the target RNC 312, depending on the architectureof the network 300. The message containing the target identifyinginformation is then transmitted from Target RNC 312 to the gateway 314.The gateway 314 then examines the target identification informationpointing to FAP 304 and decides whether it needs to make a hand-inattempt to the FAP 304.

It should be noted that in some examples, target RNC 312 can perform thefunctions of the gateway 314. That is, a single device might perform thefunctions of target RNC 312 and gateway 314. The gateway 314 could alsobe directly connected to the MSC 310. Additionally, the network 300could also contain more than one MSC (e.g., a source MSC and a targetMSC).

Using UMTS/WCDMA systems as an example, such hand-over/relocationmessages may contain one or more of the following messages: “RELOCATIONREQUIRED”, “RELOCATION REQUEST” and “PHYSICAL CHANNEL RECONFIGURATION”.The target identification information, such as the 28-bit “CellIdentity” unique within one PLMN, can be added to thesehand-over/relocation messages; and it can be populated into either anexisting Information Element (IE) or a new-defined IE in thesehand-over/relocation messages. The existing IEs can include IE of“Source To Target Transparent Container” in “RELOCATIONREQUIRED/REQUEST” messages and the IE of “Downlink information for eachradio link” in “PHYSICAL CHANNEL RECONFIGURATION” message.

Assuming gateway 314 authorizes a hand-in attempt, gateway 314 begins tocommunicate with FAP 304. After allocating proper resources for thehand-in session, FAP 304 begins to respond with a hand-overconfirmation/acknowledge message to begin the synchronization processwith UE 302. Messages sent from FAP 304 will go back through the networkto the source RNC 308. Once the hand-over confirmation message isreturned from the target entity, the hand-over-controlling sourceentity, (e.g., the source RNC) transmits the hand-over command messageto UE 302 (e.g., a physical channel reconfiguration message), whichcauses UE 302 to connect to the new cell associated with FAP 304. Thesource RNC may need to populate the same target identificationinformation in the hand-over command message sent to AT 302 when theenhanced relocation/hand-over requesting messages previously sent to thetarget entity also contains the target identification information.

In some examples, changes to the measurement report messages andprocedures report the target identity information or equivalent to theFAP and then to any or all of the RNC/FAP-GW and CN. At least one newfield/Information Element (IE), that is, the “target identity” describedabove is defined and added to the conventional measurement reportmessages. Such target identity information is associated with each cellwith HIDCH capacity, and may be a subset of neighbor cell information inthe measurement report messages. An AT may populate this IE when it canand has successfully decoded the HIDCH channel of any neighbor cell(e.g., FAP 304) to obtain the target identity information. Once the newIE of “target identity” is populated, the UE will send the enhancedmeasurement report messages to relevant network entities responsible forreceiving the measurement report messages and performing proper actions(e.g., hand-over initiation and execution) based on the measurementreports. The responsible network nodes include, but are not limited to,the FAP, the RNC the FAP-GW and the CN nodes.

The decoding technique implemented by the UE 302 can also include thefeature of “soft-combining.” For example, in decoding receivedinformation, the information obtained with each decoding attempt can bepreserved and incorporated with the retransmitted copies of a codeword.That is, the UE 304 may temporarily store any erroneous data, and maythen combine erroneous data and retransmitted data to reduce aprobability of error occurrence. The correct data obtained from thepartially successful decoding attempt can be stored and combined withpartial correct data obtained during subsequent decoding attempts.

In some examples, enhancements are made to relocation messages to besent for the initiation and execution of hand-over procedures. At leastone new field/Information Element, namely, “target identity,” is definedand added to the conventional hand-over/relocation messages. Thedecision to populate the new IE of “Target Identity” in the relocationmessages is up to those network entities responsible for receiving themeasurement report messages and controlling the cellular networkhand-over initiation procedures as mentioned above. Thus, those entitiesin charge of measurement reports and hand-over procedures may need topopulate the IE of “target identity” in the enhancedhand-over/relocation messages, for example, only when the measurementreport messages they received from ATs contain valid target identityinformation. Once the new IE of “target identity” is populated, theenhanced relocation message is sent from hand-over source RNC/FAP-GW tothe following entities: (1) the same or different target RNC directly;(2) the same or different target FAP-GW directly; or (3) differenttarget RNC/FAP-GW via CN (e.g. MSC).

Thus, a new channel (HIDCH) broadcasts specific target identityinformation in a way that facilitates a UE in an active mode decodingand obtaining the specific target identity which can be used toaccurately identify the target hand-in FAP. AT measurement controlprocedure is also enhanced to allow the collection of the targetidentity information provided by AT 304. Enhancements to the measurementreport messages and procedures relate to a method for reporting theobtained target identity information (or equivalent quantity) to any,either or all of the following network entities: FAP, RNC/FAP-GW (FAPGateway) and CN.

Furthermore, enhancements are made to the relocation message transmittedover network interfaces (e.g., either Iu or Iur for UMTS/WCDMA system)such that target cell identity or equivalent from source to targethand-in cell is included. In doing so, the hand-over accuracy can beimproved. Finally, target RNC/FAP-GW is enhanced to enable it tointerpret the indicated target identity in the relocation messages andthus identify the target FAP cell with minimum ambiguity.

While the network architectures discussed herein have focused on thecircuit-switched domain, similar techniques could be implemented in apacket-switched domain, or any other topology. For example, an SGSNmight replace the MSC described in FIG. 3.

An exemplary definition 400 for the new channel HIDCH that supports theaccurate target identification and hand-in activities is shown in theexample of FIG. 4. The new-defined HIDCH channel can be any of thefollowing channels: (1) a reuse of the channel status indicator channel(“CSICH”); (2) a reuse of a different existing channel; or (3) acompletely new channel that meets the requirements defined in thefollowing basic structure. The basic structure can include an orthogonalspreading code, and a short message duration (e.g., less than 9 ms andwith a repetition such that a UE can locate the message within a singlecompressed mode gap independent of the timeframe.).

As for the specific target identity for the purpose of accurate hand-in,it can be conveyed and broadcast by HIDCH and can be any of thefollowing options: (1) a reuse of existing cell identity (e.g. 28-bits“Cell Identity”, 28 bits Global Cell Identity (GCI) composed of 12-bitsRNC-ID, and 16-bits “Cell Id” defined in 3GPP), (2) a new cell identity;(3) an existing FAP group identity (e.g. CSG ID); or (4) a new-definedFAP group identity. All of above identities could be either unique orgeneral to a group that is unique in macro coverage or in network.

The HIDCH channel can include a number of features. For example, theHIDCH may be compatible with the capabilities of an active AT. Forinstance, if used in UMTS, the HIDCH may be compatible with compressedmode characteristics (e.g. maximum transmission gap length, gaprepetition times and intervals, etc), and may support AT measurementabilities once the UE moves to Cell_FACH state temporarily Furthermore,the HIDCH may have proper frame length and may apply any appropriateschemes (e.g., coding, spreading, scrambling, or modulation) on thetarget identity to ensure that it can be readily decoded and read by aUE in active mode (e.g. in compressed mode).

According to the exemplary definition 400 of the proposed HIDCHillustrated in FIG. 4, HIDCH reuses the void “SI” portion of the CSICHchannel to carry the target identity (e.g. 28 bits “Cell Identity”) thatfacilitates accurate hand-in. Each SI has 8 bits. So, in some examples,5 SIs can be grouped into one new-defined HIDCH frame (40 bits). As aresult, each CISCH frame can allow 3 repeated HIDCH frames and eachHIDCH frame is 6.7 ms. The specific target identity (e.g. 28 bits “CellIdentity”) can be encoded into each 40 bits HIDCH frame. Some exemplaryencoding schemes could include Reed Solomon, Golay, Cyclic Block Codes(BCH), Fire Code and Punctured ½ rate Convolutional. Deciding whichspecific encoding scheme(s) to be used for the HIDCH is a matter ofdesign choice.

In some examples, a UE in compressed mode decodes the hand-in targetidentity. For this purpose, the Transmission Gap Length (TGL) of the CMcould be configured to 14 slots (e.g., 9.3 ms). Since 9.3 ms TGL issubstantially longer than 6.7 ms HIDCH defined in this example design,the target identity can be readily decoded by the UE in one transmissiongap or a limited number of gaps in compressed mode. In some instancesthe UE may not be able to decode the HIDCH in a single reception cycledue to e.g. too low signal strength. In this case, the UE can collectsamples from multiple detected HIDCH channels and perform a softcombination of the samples to improve its ability to detect the channel.

The HIDCH channel can be used for both inter-frequency andintra-frequency system for the purpose of hand-over targetidentification and the like. For the case of inter-frequency UMTS/WCDMAsystem, FAPs equipped with HIDCH are located in a different frequencycarrier from that of macro; thus a UE has to enter Compressed Mode firstto be able to detect and decode the HIDCH channel of an inter-frequencyneighbor FAPs to obtain the unambiguous target identity. Whereas for thecase of intra-frequency system, FAPs equipped with HIDCH are located inthe same frequency carrier as that of macro; thus a UE can detect anddecode the HIDCH channel of an intra-frequency neighbor FAP at the sametime as it performs other intra-frequency activities.

FIG. 5A shows an enhancement to the traditional measurement controlprocedure in the UE to allow the collection of the target identityinformation from the HIDCH defined above. Initially a UE in active modeperforms (502 a) routine measurement activities such as cell search,signal strength measurement and evaluation/ranking. Whenever the UEdetects (504 a) the existence of a nearby FAP, it begins to measure andcompare the FAP' signal quality with a pre-defined threshold. If thedetected FAP's quality is better than the threshold (506 a) (optionallykeeps being better constantly for a period of a pre-defined hysteresis),the UE will start to decode (508 a) the HIDCH channel of the FAP. If noFAP is detected or if the FAP's signal does not exceed the threshold,the UE does not need to decode the HIDCH.

FIG. 5B demonstrates the changes and enhancements to relocation messageinterpretation and target identification procedures. Once the relocationmessage recipient (e.g. hand-over target RNC/FAP-GW) receives arelocation message, it checks (512 b) whether the new IE of “targetidentity” is properly populated. If the new IE of “target identity isproperly populated, the relocation message recipient (e.g., thehand-over target domain controller) uses (514 b) the populated targetidentity information or its corresponding/mapped identity information(e.g. FAP ID, Cell Id, IP address, etc). This information can allow therecipient to uniquely identify the target cell for hand-over to find thecorrect hand-over target cell (e.g. FAP) without ambiguity, and thensend (516 b) hand-over commands or forward relocation messages to theidentified hand-over target cell (e.g. FAP). If the new IE of “targetidentity is not properly populated, the recipient just performs (518 b)routine relocation message interpretation logic, for example in UMTS,the IE “RNC ID” and “Cell Id” contained in the IE “TransparentContainer” contained in the relocation messages are interpreted bytarget RNC/FAP-GW in order to identify the hand-over target cell.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of computing devices 600, 650 that may be usedto implement the individual devices and methods described in thisdocument, either as a client or as a server or plurality of servers.Computing device 600 is intended to represent various forms of digitalcomputers, such as laptops, desktops, workstations, personal digitalassistants, servers, blade servers, mainframes, and other appropriatecomputers. Computing device 650 is intended to represent various formsof mobile devices, such as personal digital assistants, cellulartelephones, “smartphones,” and other similar computing devices. Thecomponents shown here, their connections and relationships, and theirfunctions, are meant to be exemplary only, and are not meant to limitimplementations of the inventions described and/or claimed in thisdocument.

Computing device 600 includes a processor 602, memory 604, a storagedevice 606, a high-speed interface 608 connecting to memory 604 andhigh-speed expansion ports 610, and a low speed interface 612 connectingto low speed bus 614 and storage device 606. Each of the components 602,604, 606, 608, 610, and 612, are interconnected using various busses,and may be mounted on a common motherboard or in other manners asappropriate. The processor 602 can process instructions for executionwithin the computing device 600, including instructions stored in thememory 604 or on the storage device 606 to display graphical informationfor a GUI on an external input/output device, such as display 616coupled to high speed interface 608. In other implementations, multipleprocessors and/or multiple buses may be used, as appropriate, along withmultiple memories and types of memory. Also, multiple computing devices600 may be connected, with each device providing portions of thenecessary operations (e.g., as a server bank, a group of blade servers,or a multi-processor system).

The memory 604 stores information within the computing device 600. Inone implementation, the memory 604 is a computer-readable medium. In oneimplementation, the memory 604 is a volatile memory unit or units. Inanother implementation, the memory 604 is a non-volatile memory unit orunits. The storage device 606 is capable of providing mass storage forthe computing device 600. In one implementation, the storage device 606is a computer-readable medium. In various different implementations, thestorage device 606 may be a floppy disk device, a hard disk device, anoptical disk device, or a tape device, a flash memory or other similarsolid state memory device, or an array of devices, including devices ina storage area network or other configurations. In one implementation, acomputer program product is tangibly embodied in an information carrier.The computer program product contains instructions that, when executed,perform one or more methods, such as those described above. Theinformation carrier is a computer-or machine-readable medium, such asthe memory 604, the storage device 606, or a memory on processor 602.

The high speed controller 608 manages bandwidth-intensive operations forthe computing device 600, while the low speed controller 612 manageslower bandwidth-intensive operations. Such allocation of duties isexemplary only. In one implementation, the high-speed controller 608 iscoupled to memory 604, display 616 (e.g., through a graphics processoror accelerator), and to high-speed expansion ports 610, which may acceptvarious expansion cards (not shown). In the implementation, low-speedcontroller 612 is coupled to storage device 606 and low-speed expansionport 614. The low-speed expansion port, which may include variouscommunication ports (e.g., USB, Bluetooth, Ethernet, wireless Ethernet)may be coupled to one or more input/output devices, such as a keyboard,a pointing device, a scanner, or a networking device such as a switch orrouter, e.g., through a network adapter.

The computing device 600 may be implemented in a number of differentforms, as shown in the figure. For example, it may be implemented as astandard server 620, or multiple times in a group of such servers. Itmay also be implemented as part of a rack server system 624. Inaddition, it may be implemented in a personal computer such as a laptopcomputer 622. Alternatively, components from computing device 600 may becombined with other components in a mobile device (not shown), such asdevice 650. Each of such devices may contain one or more of computingdevice 600, 650, and an entire system may be made up of multiplecomputing devices 600, 650 communicating with each other.

Computing device 650 includes a processor 652, memory 664, aninput/output device such as a display 654, a communication interface666, and a transceiver 668, among other components. The device 650 mayalso be provided with a storage device, such as a microdrive or otherdevice, to provide additional storage. Each of the components 650, 652,664, 654, 666, and 668, are interconnected using various buses, andseveral of the components may be mounted on a common motherboard or inother manners as appropriate.

The processor 652 can process instructions for execution within thecomputing device 650, including instructions stored in the memory 664.The processor may also include separate analog and digital processors.The processor may provide, for example, for coordination of the othercomponents of the device 650, such as control of user interfaces,applications run by device 650, and wireless communication by device650. Processor 652 may communicate with a user through control interface658 and display interface 656 coupled to a display 654. The display 654may be, for example, a TFT LCD display or an OLED display, or otherappropriate display technology. The display interface 656 may compriseappropriate circuitry for driving the display 654 to present graphicaland other information to a user. The control interface 658 may receivecommands from a user and convert them for submission to the processor652. In addition, an external interface 662 may be provide incommunication with processor 652, so as to enable near areacommunication of device 650 with other devices. External interface 662may provide, for example, for wired communication (e.g., via a dockingprocedure) or for wireless communication (e.g., via Bluetooth or othersuch technologies).

The memory 664 stores information within the computing device 650. Inone implementation, the memory 664 is a computer-readable medium. In oneimplementation, the memory 664 is a volatile memory unit or units. Inanother implementation, the memory 664 is a non-volatile memory unit orunits. Expansion memory 674 may also be provided and connected to device650 through expansion interface 672, which may include, for example, aSIMM card interface. Such expansion memory 674 may provide extra storagespace for device 650, or may also store applications or otherinformation for device 650. Specifically, expansion memory 674 mayinclude instructions to carry out or supplement the processes describedabove, and may include secure information also. Thus, for example,expansion memory 674 may be provide as a security module for device 650,and may be programmed with instructions that permit secure use of device650. In addition, secure applications may be provided via the SIMMcards, along with additional information, such as placing identifyinginformation on the SIMM card in a non-hackable manner.

The memory may include for example, flash memory and/or MRAM memory, asdiscussed below. In one implementation, a computer program product istangibly embodied in an information carrier. The computer programproduct contains instructions that, when executed, perform one or moremethods, such as those described above. The information carrier is acomputer- or machine-readable medium, such as the memory 664, expansionmemory 674, memory on processor 652, or a propagated signal. Device 650may communicate wirelessly through communication interface 666, whichmay include digital signal processing circuitry where necessary.Communication interface 666 may provide for communications under variousmodes or protocols, such as GSM voice calls, SMS, EMS, or MMS messaging,CDMA, TDMA, PDC, WCDMA, CDMA2000, or GPRS, among others. Suchcommunication may occur, for example, through radio-frequencytransceiver 668. In addition, short-range communication may occur, suchas using a BLUETOOTH WIFI, or other such transceiver (not shown). Inaddition, GPS receiver module 670 may provide additional wireless datato device 650, which may be used as appropriate by applications runningon device 650.

Device 650 may also communication audibly using audio codec 660, whichmay receive spoken information from a user and convert it to usabledigital information. Audio codex 660 may likewise generate audible soundfor a user, such as through a speaker, e.g., in a handset of device 650.Such sound may include sound from voice telephone calls, may includerecorded sound (e.g., voice messages, music files, etc.) and may alsoinclude sound generated by applications operating on device 650.

The computing device 650 may be implemented in a number of differentforms, as shown in the figure. For example, it may be implemented as acellular telephone 680. It may also be implemented as part of asmartphone 682, personal digital assistant, or other similar mobiledevice.

Various implementations of the systems and techniques described here canbe realized in digital electronic circuitry, integrated circuitry,specially designed ASICs (application specific integrated circuits),computer hardware, firmware, software, and/or combinations thereof.These various implementations can include implementation in one or morecomputer programs that are executable and/or interpretable on aprogrammable system including at least one programmable processor, whichmay be special or general purpose, coupled to receive data andinstructions from, and to transmit data and instructions to, a storagesystem, at least one input device, and at least one output device. Thesecomputer programs (also known as programs, software, softwareapplications or code) include machine instructions for a programmableprocessor, and can be implemented in a high-level procedural and/orobject-oriented programming language, and/or in assembly/machinelanguage. As used herein, the terms “machine-readable medium”“computer-readable medium” refers to any computer program product,apparatus and/or device (e.g., magnetic discs, optical disks, memory,Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs)) used to provide machine instructionsand/or data to a programmable processor, including a machine-readablemedium that receives machine instructions as a machine-readable signal.The term “machine-readable signal” refers to any signal used to providemachine instructions and/or data to a programmable processor. To providefor interaction with a user, the systems and techniques described herecan be implemented on a computer having a display device (e.g., a CRT(cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor) fordisplaying information to the user and a keyboard and a pointing device(e.g., a mouse or a trackball) by which the user can provide input tothe computer. Other kinds of devices can be used to provide forinteraction with a user as well; for example, feedback provided to theuser can be any form of sensory feedback (e.g., visual feedback,auditory feedback, or tactile feedback); and input from the user can bereceived in any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactile input.

The systems and techniques described herein can be implemented in acomputing system that includes a back end component (e.g., as a dataserver), or that includes a middleware component (e.g., an applicationserver), or that includes a front end component (e.g., a client computerhaving a graphical user interface or a Web browser through which a usercan interact with an implementation of the systems and techniquesdescribed here), or any combination of such back end, middleware, orfront end components. The components of the system can be interconnectedby any form or medium of digital data communication (e.g., acommunication network). Examples of communication networks include alocal area network (“LAN”), a wide area network (“WAN”), and theInternet.

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other.

A number of implementations have been described. Nevertheless, it willbe understood that various modifications may be made without departingfrom the spirit and scope. For example, advantageous results may beachieved if the steps of the disclosed techniques were performed in adifferent sequence, if components in the disclosed systems were combinedin a different manner, or if the components were replaced orsupplemented by other components. The functions and processes (includingalgorithms) may be performed in hardware, software, or a combinationthereof, and some implementations may be performed on modules orhardware not identical to those described. Accordingly, otherimplementations are within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method performed on a portable access terminaloperating in an active mode, the method comprising: detecting a presenceof a personal base station; receiving an encoded identification messagetransmitted from the personal base station over a channel statusindicator channel, the encoded identification message comprising aunique identifier associated with the personal base station and theencoded identification message being configured to be detectable by theportable access terminal within a single compressed mode gap; decodingthe encoded identification message to extract the unique identifier; andtransmitting the unique identifier to a source network entity; whereinthe encoded identification message is decoded from a plurality of eightbit status indicator portions of the channel status indicator channel;wherein the plurality of eight bit status indicator portions are groupedinto a home node B identification channel frame.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein the portable access terminal enters a compressed mode.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein detecting comprises detecting the presence ofthe personal base station by detecting a scrambling code of the personalbase station.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting comprisescomparing a signal quality of the personal base station with apre-determined threshold.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the portableaccess terminal transmits the unique identifier to the source networkentity in a measurement report message (MRM) or a radio resource controlmessage (RRC).
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the network is acircuit-switched network or a packet-switched network.
 7. The method ofclaim 1, wherein decoding comprises partially decoding the encodedidentification message and storing a partial result.
 8. The method ofclaim 7, wherein the access terminal combines one or more partialresults to form a full result.
 9. A method comprising: detecting, by aportable access terminal, a presence of a personal base station;receiving, by a portable access terminal, an encoded identificationmessage transmitted from the personal base station over a channel statusindicator channel, the encoded identification message comprising aunique identifier associated with the personal base station and theencoded identification message being configured to be detectable by theportable access terminal within a single compressed mode gap; decodingthe encoded identification message on the portable access terminal toextract the unique identifier; and transmitting the unique identifier toa source network entity, the source network entity determining whetherto hand-over a session to the personal base station based on one or morepredetermined factors; wherein the encoded identification message isdecoded from a plurality of eight bit status indicator portions of thechannel status indicator channel; wherein the plurality of eight bitstatus indicator portions are grouped into a home node B identificationchannel frame.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the source networkentity transmits a relocation message to a target network entity, therelocation message being populated with the unique identifier.
 11. Themethod of claim 10, wherein the source network entity verifies avalidity of the unique identifier before populating the relocationmessage with the unique identifier.
 12. A system comprising: a personalbase station; a source network entity; and a portable access terminal inan active mode, the portable access terminal to: detect a presence ofthe personal base station receive an encoded identification messagetransmitted from the personal base station over a channel statusindicator channel, the encoded identification message comprising aunique identifier associated with the personal base station and theencoded identification message being configured to be detectable by theportable access terminal within a single compressed mode gap; decode theencoded identification message to extract the unique identifier; andtransmit the unique identifier to the source network entity; wherein theencoded identification message is decoded from a plurality of eight bitstatus indicator portions of the channel status indicator channel;wherein the plurality of eight bit status indicator portions are groupedinto a home node B identification channel frame.
 13. The system of claim12, wherein the portable access terminal enters a compressed mode. 14.The system of claim 12, wherein the portable access terminal detects thepresence of the personal base station by detecting a scrambling code ofthe personal base station.
 15. The system of claim 12, wherein theportable access terminal transmits the unique identifier to the sourcenetwork entity in a measurement report message (MRM) or a radio resourcecontrol message (RRC).
 16. The system of claim 12, wherein the sourcenetwork entity determines whether to hand-over a session to the personalbase station based on one or more predetermined factors.
 17. The systemof claim 12, wherein the source network entity transmits a relocationmessage to a target network entity, the relocation message beingpopulated with the unique identifier.
 18. The system of claim 12,further comprising circuit-switched or packet-switched networkarchitecture.
 19. A non-transitory computer program product, tangiblyembodied in a computer-readable medium, for executing instructions on aprocessor, the computer program product being operable to cause aportable access terminal operating in an active mode to: detect apresence of a personal base station; receive an encoded identificationmessage transmitted from the personal base station over a channel statusindicator channel, the encoded identification message comprising aunique identifier associated with the personal base station and theencoded identification message being configured to be detectable by theportable access terminal within a single compressed mode gap; decode theencoded identification message to extract the unique identifier; andtransmit the unique identifier to a source network entity; wherein theencoded identification message is decoded from a plurality of eight bitstatus indicator portions of the channel status indicator channel;wherein the plurality of eight bit status indicator portions are groupedinto a home node B identification channel frame.
 20. The computerprogram product of claim 19, wherein the portable access terminal entersa compressed mode.
 21. The computer program product of claim 19, whereindetecting further comprises detecting the presence of the personal basestation by detecting a scrambling code of the personal base station. 22.The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the portable accessterminal transmits the unique identifier to the source network entity ina measurement report message (MRM) or a radio resource control message(RRC).
 23. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the networkis a circuit-switched network or a packet-switched network.
 24. Thecomputer program product of claim 19, wherein decoding comprisespartially decoding the encoded identification message and storing apartial result.
 25. The computer program product of claim 19, whereinthe access terminal combines one or more partial results to form a fullresult.
 26. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the sourcenetwork entity transmits a relocation message to a target networkentity, the relocation message being populated with the uniqueidentifier.